It's not that hard to play. I can play it, and I'm no Nicky Hopkins. However, I suspect it might be pretty hard to sing and play at the same time.
Wait, did he actually sing the "who's that coming round" section from the reprised Ram On or did the band play as well?
Soundcheck started at about 4 o’clock, Ram On/Big Barn Bed were both on ukulele, band didn’t join in. Sea Melody is of course more commonly referred to now as Celebration, as repurposed for Standing Stone.
As a "warning" to anyone who might have a soundcheck ticket: get there on the early side. When I went to Syracuse last year, they said to arrive within a certain window, and I thought that implied "if you get here at the end of that window, you'll see the soundcheck". Nope. The soundcheck was already a good 15 minutes in when the window closed. So if I'd showed up a little later than I did, I woulda missed a good chunk of the soundcheck. Even though I made the whole thing, I was still kinda mad. Really seemed careless for them to imply in their communications that if you arrived in that window, you'd be set.
Reviewers agree on Paul’s voice in Melbourne: “He was in fine form tonight, very chatty with the crowd, much chattier than on the 2017 Australian tour. His voice was also better too. In 2017 his voice took about four of five songs to settle. This time the vocal cords were there right from the start.” Paul McCartney Is Getting Better All The Time At Most Likely His Last Ever Melbourne Show #Review
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I’ve never been to a soundcheck so please excuse my ignorance about them . I believe in the old days he’d do the complete songs at soundcheck . Does he still perform the songs in full, with vocals? If so that’s quite an additional vocal load in addition to the concert songs.
Paul did mention a few year ago, that he would like to release a Boxset of “Soundcheck” recordings. Taping dates back to early Wings!
Hi, about 2000 people attended the Melbourne soundcheck, we stood behind the barrier at the back of sections A & B (not right up against the stage). The entire band, including the horn section were there, while Paul sees it as a special ritual for the fans, it also serves the purpose of getting the balance of all the instruments, light, video & sound right. Paul started off playing his Les Paul guitar for the first instrumental jam to ease into it before continuing on guitar for Honey Don’t and Honey Hush. He switched to his Hofner bass for One After 909, introducing it as one of the first songs he wrote with John. The horn section was at the fore for Coming Up, slipping in the Dragnet theme as the main riff on one verse, the song accompanied by some awesome video visuals original stage from the Music video, complete with all the characters he & Linda portrayed. Then Paul switched to piano at the back of the stage for Women & Wives, Miss Ann, C’Moon (again the horn section getting a workout) and the instrumental Celebration, at one point forgetting how the middle section went. Paul headed back to the main stage. He stopped to ask how everyone was and look at some of the signs people had brought, then be strapped on his acoustic guitar for renditions of From Me To You and It’s So Easy. It was then on to the ukelele for solo rendition of Ram On/Big Barn Bed (just like the original record). Paul switched back to acoustic guitar (this time his old Epiphone Texan with the Detroit Red Wings sticker, the one he recorded Yesterday on) for a band version of Midnight Special before summoning his magic piano with the psychedelic paint scheme, only now it’s modernised and projected from a tv screen built into the piano side facing the audience so it can project the same visuals on the main screens. First up was New, complete with harpsichord tone, before finishing with Lady Madonna, an opportunity for the lighting and video crews to check their side was working properly. Paul checked that everyone was happy they’d tested everything, and told us we’d seem him again shortly, he turned to talk with the stage crew while we all shuffled off for a vegan dinner & opportunity to buy some merch without the long queues before the main show started.
2000 people? That must be a typo right? I attended a number of soundchecks in the days before the hot sound package was over $1000, and I think there were fewer than 100 people.
For the folks that have attended the soundchecks, when did you receive information about what time to arrive? The one I'm attending is still a couple weeks away (Gold Coast), but as I've never been to a soundcheck before I'm unsure what to expect regarding info being communicated!
You are free to discuss what you would like. Where do I indicate that it’s forbidden to bring up something that you think is new information but we have been hearing about for over a decade? By all means carry on
Oof - not sure but I think we heard about times/schedules maybe a week in advance? Just remember what I said above: get there at the early side of the "time window"! Don't assume that if it says "come between 3 and 4" that you'll see the whole soundcheck if you arrive at 4!
FYI, the last sound check show I attended(same as @Oatsdad show mentioned above) i arrived BEFORE the scheduled opening time, was let right in and there were already a dozen people inside so so much for doors… combine that with the early start time, def show up as early as possible… I think we got email only a few days before
Big question to me: was the Syracuse soundcheck @fishcane and I attended an aberration or does the soundcheck usually/always start before the end of the "arrival window"?
I have been to a few, although not recently, and that never happened. When the group was all there, we were walked into the arena/stadium and led as a group to the soundcheck viewing area (usually about 1/2 way down the floor). It would have been difficult for people to join later. I think Paul started earlier than anticipated. One time we could hear the soundcheck starting but we were asked to wait because the band was “working out some problems”. Maybe that was true or perhaps he started early that day. Either way, that’s good advice for people going to the soundcheck.
Stadium singalong with Paul McCartney is cathartic and magical "At 81, McCartney is full of energy, flitting with ease between guitar, bass, keys and ukulele. His voice has naturally worn with time but he still hits the high notes, and there’s more than a hint of the cheeky Liverpool schoolboy who started a musical revolution with his friends.'
Now that's something I would be interested in and would love to have! Many times his soundchecks had songs I preferred over many that were in the main setlist. A box set of those would be great. I would love to have his performance of a song like Friends To Go.
Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll ever do another soundcheck package - while I enjoyed it, it's soooo damned expensive! It was a "bucket list/make sure I do it once" thing. But never say never! I do know that I was really surprised Macca was a good 10-15 minutes into the soundcheck by the time the "arrival window" closed. Is it possible that everyone was there and they figured they'd start early since no ticket holders were missing? Sure. Doesn't seem probable to me, though.
